The Prince and the Pretender by Vincent Lardo

Author:Vincent Lardo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: MLR Press
Published: 2012-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

12

Tom Bradshaw never made it to London but thanks to Nicky he was transported, without moving an inch, to a magic land no travel brochure could offer. On Christmas Day they trampled across the virgin snow in Central Park, rented skates, and spent hours showing off to each other on the ice. Tom was surprised at how good a skater Nicky was and, as they cavorted like little boys, he began to realize how little he knew about the young man he had taken into his home as a friend and lover. Occasionally they clung to each other for support and the gesture held more meaning than just trying to keep afoot on the slick ice. Both friendless for so long, each now looked upon the other as a savior brought forth, as it were, on a very appropriate day.

Christmas Night, cold and exhausted, they showered together, ate hamburgers together, drank beer together and talked, sometimes vying for the floor, as if they had just been blessed with the power of speech.

“If I’m going to live here do I have any say in the decor?” Nicky asked.

“What decor?”

“For openers, the paper you bought for the bathroom.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It would take less time to tell you what’s not wrong with it.”

“My God, I’m harboring a fag decorator.”

“Do you think I could become a decorator?”

“I’ll let you know after I see the new wallpaper.”

They packed Marie Romaine’s belongings and shipped them off to England. They moved Nicky’s clothes into Tom’s apartment and Tom was awed not only by the quantity but also the quality of Nicky’s wardrobe. It was all Saville Row and Fifth Avenue. “He treated you like a prince,” Tom exclaimed.

“But I told you that.”

The apartment off Central Park West was also the recipient of a television set, much better than Tom’s, a stereo, infinitely better than Tom’s, and a collection of books that almost amounted to a mini library. There were all the classics, of course, but more in evidence were romance and adventure novels and mystery thrillers.

Tom knew they represented the vicarious life Nicky had lived until now and he wondered if he could make Nicky’s dreams of an adventurous life a reality. Tom thought he could, and not only for Nicky Three but for Tom Bradshaw as well.

“Where’s the porn?” Tom demanded.

“Never touch the stuff.”

“Cut the crap…where do you keep it hidden?”

Nicky shook his head. “I used to buy them, read them and toss them. I was afraid they would see it.”

“Did they ever go through your personal stuff?”

“Never, but I didn’t want to take the chance.”

“God, they must have known you had a sex life even if it was just between you and your fist. Didn’t Alexis and you ever have a man-to-man?”

“I told you, no. That’s what he paid tutors for. But once, in London, he asked me if I wanted to go to a…you know, a house.”

“A bordello? Holy shit. And you refused.”

“With Uncle Alexis supervising, would you?”

“Hell, no.”

Tom was disappointed about the porn.

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